Online pranksters put out hoaxes right after Vegas shooting

KING 5

Josh Hafner, USA TODAY , KING9:13 AM. CDT October 03, 2017

Police form a perimeter around the road leading to the Mandalay Hotel (background) after a gunman killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 200 others when he opened fire on a country music concert in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 2, 2017.
Police said the gunman, a 64-year-old local resident named as Stephen Paddock, had been killed after a SWAT team responded to reports of multiple gunfire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay, a hotel-casino next to the concert venue. / AFP PHOTO / Mark RALSTON (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)(Photo: MARK RALSTON, This content is subject to copyright.)

Within hours, Internet trolls and pranksters began churning out hoaxes, misinformation and lame jokes aimed at misleading the public, promoting their own platforms and laughing in the wake of tragedy.

Many of them worked, garnering hundreds of reposts on social media from possibly duped users. It all highlighted a gullibility and lack of judgement too common online: Social media users are far too trusting of random accounts that filter into their feeds.

Take this tweet from user @bloomoreos claiming his father is missing in Vegas. It went viral with 600-plus retweets, but is a photo of adult film star Johnny Sins. The account later appeared to be suspended.

More fake info about the shooting at Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas.

Here's a user claiming his brother was in the Mandalay Bay hotel, and "doesn't ask his cell phone." According to Buzzfeed News, the man in the photo is actually linked to the case of a teen murdered in Mexico.